About Incontinence

If you have difficulty controlling your bladder or bowels, you are not alone. Incontinence affects up to 25 million Americans, and approximately 80% of them are women. Unfortunately the likelihood of experiencing incontinence increases as you age. Fifty percent or more of the elderly living at home or in long term facilities are incontinent. Many seniors living at home who experience loss of bladder control or loss of bowel control are embarrassed or afraid to confide in their family, caregivers, or physicians. They may become isolated and depressed as they withdraw from social contact.

If you are experiencing incontinence, we urge you to contact your physician. There are many treatments available. If incontinent products are advised for you, many different types are available to help you maintain dignity and independence.

If you believe someone you know is experiencing loss of bladder control, it may help them to know they are not alone and help is available. Please urge them to visit their doctor.

There are several types of incontinence. The following descriptions are provided by the National Association for Continence. They refer primarily to urinary incontinence.

Stress incontinence occurs when pelvic muscles have been damaged, causing the bladder to leak during exercise, coughing, sneezing, laughing, or any body movement which puts pressure on the bladder.

Urge incontinence, the urgent need to pass urine and the inability to get to a toilet in time, occurs when nerve passages alone the pathway from the bladder to the brain are damaged, causing a sudden bladder contraction that cannot be consciously inhibited.

Overflow incontinence refers to the leakage that occurs when the quantity of urine produced exceeds the bladder's holding capacity.

Reflex incontinence, the loss of urine when the person is unaware of the need to urinate, may result from bladder problems such as an abnormal opening between the bladder and another structure, or from a leak in the bladder, urethra, or ureter.

Incontinence from surgery follows such operations as hysterectomies, caesarean sections, prostatectomy's, lower intestinal surgery or rectal surgery. Bladder problems commonly cause urinary incontinence.